Make a Shower Curtain!

The Green Pepper is known for its practical and useful sewing patterns, as well as technical fabrics.  When I was going through the Green Pepper archives recently, I found an old pattern/tutorial for a shower curtain.  And, it happened to be that I needed to make a shower curtain for one of my bathrooms! 

So, I am sharing this "how-to" with you for making a Green Pepper shower curtain!

The beauty of making your own shower curtain is that you can make it however you want, which whatever fabrics you want.  If you are using a waterproof or water repellent fabric, you don't need a liner, but if you are using a regular fabric (cotton, linen, silk), you need a waterproof liner.  The liner can be made of nylon or vinyl.  You can also make your shower curtain the size you want.  A standard shower curtain is approximately 72"x72" (183-183cm).  But if you have a different size shower (or just like a different look), you can make your shower curtain to fit your shower.  The customization you get from making your own is nice!

I made some changes to the original pattern when making my curtain.  First, instead of using a nylon taffeta, which is water repellent, for a one-layer shower curtain, I made my curtain with a striped linen we have in stock at Folkwear (there's only a little left) because I liked the colors. And I used a clear nylon shower curtain liner, which I bought, for the liner. I also made my shower curtain smaller than the pattern suggests because my shower is smaller than a standard shower (it's in an old house).  So I also cut my liner down to the size I wanted. I did not hem my bottom edge because the selvage was pretty.  And, I made buttonholes, instead of using eyelets, for the shower curtain rings at the top.  The original Green Pepper pattern is below, with my notes for each step.

Supplies:

• 4.5 yards nylon taffeta 
  
• 1 package 1/4" eyelets (12) -- or size to fit the shower curtain rings.
• Polyester thread

We suggest nylon taffeta for the shower curtain because it is water repellent, or resistant, has a nice drape, is a medium weight, and comes in a variety of colors.  You can use whatever fabric you would like, but a fabric that drapes fairly well is helpful.  Also, if you are using a fabric that is not waterproof or water-resistant, you should have a shower curtain liner that is water-resistant/waterproof.

You will also need shower curtain rings and a rod to hang the shower curtain.

Helpful Hints:

• Use a sharp size 11 needle
• Set stitch length to 8 stitches per inch
• Square cut edges of fabric so that you end up with a square curtain and straight edges and hems.

Construction: 

1.  Cut the fabric into two equal lengths of 2.25 yards or about 81" (206cm) each.  

2.  Sew the two pieces together along one long side with a 3/8" seam allowance, or make a flat felled or a French seam.  

3.  Trim all sides to your desired width, adding 2" (5.1cm) for hem allowance on the side edges and 4" (10.2cm) hem allowances for the top and bottom edges.  The finished dimensions of a standard shower curtain are 6'x6' (72"x72" or 183x183cm). You may need to adjust your finished size depending on your tub/shower opening.

4.  Fold under 1/2" (13mm) down one side edge.  Fold under a second time.  Stitch to finish hem.  Repeat this on the other side edge.

5.  Fold under 1" (2.5cm) across the bottom edge of the curtain.  Fold under a second time.  Stitch to finish hem.

6.  Finish the top edge of the curtain in the same way.

7.  Install twelve eyelets evenly across the top of the curtain.  The first and last eyelets should be in the corners.  Or, you can make buttonholes instead.

8.  Place shower curtain rings through eyelets and hang from a rod.